He said what?
The quote jumped off the page at me; *"I have to demand the ball, get it and go to work."  I searched and located this; **“I don’t have to say, ‘I need the ball.  The guys here know what we have to do to be successful, to play inside out"  The first quote is Dwight Howard in February and the later is Dwight Howard after the teams April playoff loss. 
*Houston Chronicle and **Real GM

Speak the truth even if it hurts
I believe Central Missouri alum and fans might be displeased with this pronouncement. Kim Anderson’s name was omitted by me as a candidate for the Mizzou job. I did this because I believe Athletic Director Mike Alden who reached out to him will probably not hire him.  The positives, Anderson’s Central Missouri team won the NCAA Division II Championship last month. Anderson is alum of Mizzou having played for long-time Coach Norm Stewart; in addition he served as an assistant on Stewart’s staff for a number of years. Anderson’s coaching career is exceptional, 274-94 (.745) overall and 158-67 (.702) in the MIAA Conference.

Now the negatives, Anderson is 58 years old hardly an age AD Alden might desire for a long-term hire, he‘s ten years older than the departed Frank Haith. As for the coaching philosophy it was pointed out X’s and O’s are no different in Division I than in Division II, that could be correct do you take the chance and hire Anderson? The next question revolves around recruiting; Anderson might be more readily identified in the State of Missouri than elsewhere. The roster of his team is a mixture of junior college and former high school athletes from the State of Missouri. His age and connection to Norm Stewart may be the only factors working against him.

Bits n Pieces
Is there an advantage in playing games in a home arena? No doubt the advantage certainly goes to the home team in college, as for NBA teams the conclusion sometimes might be different. The first eight playoff games over the weekend the visitor won five. The Spurs, Heat and Thunder were the only home court winners.

The Lakers Jim Buss; *“I was laying myself on the line by saying, if this doesn’t work in three to four years, if we’re not back on the top — and the definition of top means contending for the Western Conference, contending for a championship — then I will step down because that means I have failed.” For me three or four years are too long a time-period. *Los Angeles Times

LeMarcus Aldridge had a monster game Sunday night against the Rockets. In an OT match he led his Blazer team to a playoff victory. Aldridge fouled out, but managed to score 46 points snatched down 18 rebounds and shot .548 from the floor. His box score also included two blocks shots and two assists, pretty good for the 6-11 240 pound power forward.

Members of the media always seem to uncover aspects of Kobe Bryant to criticize. Stop reading this you’ve heard the vacation story. It was mentioned by some in the media it was inappropriate for Kobe to leave for Europe a day before the Lakers season ended. They must believe Kobe sitting behind the bench would provide inspiration to his team. Interesting that Kobe was in place for most of the 27-55 season.

Some of these guys are unbelievable
Sports radio is interesting around here---they are either haters or rating hounds. One guy says; “how does Haith rate an increase in salary over Mizzou?” Another said this about Haith’s announcement; “he mentioned all the coaches that have gone through Tulsa except Bill Self.” The next day someone may have pointed out Haith’s oversight and he included Self in a later comment. The hate even extends to televised sports news.

This morning a reporter questioned Haith’s integrity, it was reported Haith sent a text message to the AD announcing he was taking the Tulsa position. This reporter failed to report the truth; I witnessed Haith video indicating he’d attempted to contact Mike Alden by phone that evening. Unable to reach Alden he sent him a text message, I’m not defending the text story I’m defending the truth. Why didn’t this long-time media person report the truth